S1 Episode 04: Virtual Insanity
by firebreathingfishies
Summary: After allowing Ashley to ride in the Tardis full time, she and the Doctor end up on a small apparently abandoned planet. But when the Doctor finds something that makes him completely and utterly happy, will he abandon the life he knows? Complete.
1. A Good Telling Off

_I'm sticking this up now because... well... I'm getting bored waiting for 7 o'clock to get here so I can go out :( But my updates from now on probably won't be as frequent because apparently I actually have to _**do**_ my uni work instead of just pretending to. _

_So anywho... here we are :D_

* * *

**Chapter One**

**A Good Telling Off**

The Tardis jerked and threw around its passengers as it hurtled through time and space. Ashley gripped onto one of the strangely fashioned beams as her stomach churned and the Doctor continued to yell at her, like he had done ever since they had set off.

Blah, blah, blah, if you're going to ride in my Tardis you have to go by my rules… blah, blah, blah, don't ever touch the control panel without my permission… Blah. Blah. Blah.

Eventually, and thankfully, the Tardis came to a halt. But it jerked so suddenly that Ashley was thrown to the floor. The Doctor however, having experienced much worse landings, managed to keep hold of the control panel and stay upright.

'Oh bloody hell…' Ashley mumbled, rubbing her head and getting to her feet. 'I think the suspension on your Tardis is screwed.'

The Doctor didn't look at all impressed. 'Don't you ever do that again!' he told her sternly. 'We're lucky we even landed at all! We could have flown right into the path of a dying star! Or landed in the middle of Hiroshima just as the bomb was coming down!'

Ashley frowned, rubbing her arm. It was throbbing from where she fell on it. 'Okay, okay.' she grumbled. 'No need to get your knickers in a twist. We landed okay, didn't we?'

The Doctor frowned. 'Barely.' He replied. 'I'm warning you now though, you try anything like that again and I'm taking you straight back home.'

'God you sound like my mum.'

'Well I feel for her if she had to deal with you for god knows how long.' The Doctor replied, still a little angry but not as much as he had been. He pushed his hands in his pockets and sighed. 'Well I guess we should go and see where we ended up.'

Ashley mimicked his movements, although she was a little sulkier. She nodded and mumbled something that he either didn't catch, or just ignored. He moved past her and towards the doors.

'Let's just hope I don't open these doors and get eaten by a dinosaur, eh? Or step out in the middle of a battlefield or something.' He paused. 'I know, seeing as it was your great idea to pull any lever willy-nilly, why don't you go out first?'

Ashley looked at him in alarm as he took her shoulders from behind and marched her towards the Tardis doors. 'Look, I said I'm sorry, okay? I won't touch your precious Tardis anymore, okay?'

The Doctor pulled open the door and pushed her out. 'Mind your step!'

Ashley cried out as she stumbled forward, half expecting to land in a lake of fire, but her boots thudded against the pavement and she managed to steady herself by pin wheeling her arms. She turned angrily to the Doctor. 'Now there was no need for that.' She snapped.

The Doctor grinned at her as he stepped out. 'Well that'll teach you for messing. I already knew where we were as soon as we landed.'

Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. 'Fine. I deserved it. So where are we?'

The Doctor squinted at their surroundings. 'Well… I'll put us at around 7500. I think we're on a small, colonised planet, most likely still part of the Human Empire.'

'So, there's going to be no face huggers or Xenomorphs running around?' Ashley enquired.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'I forgot what it's like travelling with someone who watches too many sci-fi movies. Does this place look like you'd find that kind of thing?'

Ashley looked around sceptically. 'I dunno.' She shrugged. 'Place looks pretty dead.'

The Doctor looked around also and nodded. 'I have to agree with you actually.'

They stood at the bottom of a street, lined on either side with apparently identical, white faced houses – although they didn't look quite so white anymore. Green shoots sprouted up between the cracks in the pavement. Creepers grew up the sides of the buildings, some of them actually growing through some of the shattered windows. The place looked abandoned.

'In my haste to get somewhere exciting,' Ashley sighed. 'I brought us to a ghost planet, didn't I?'

The Doctor looked curious now. 'That's unlikely. I'm sure we've just landed in a bad neighbourhood or something.'

'You still get bad neighbourhoods in 7500?'

'You'll get bad neighbourhoods _forever_.'

The pair began walking down the deserted and dilapidated street together, taking in their surroundings. When they reached the end of the street and started down the next, they both stopped with open mouths.

'Whoa…' Ashley remarked.

The new street was in similar condition to the first one they walked down, however not only were there wild plants overgrowing almost anything, thick black wires were running from holes underground and into the houses. There were more wires than plants. It was eerie to look at. It was like some kind of weird, electronic jungle.

The Doctor moved towards the nearest batch of wires, pulling his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. He got down on the floor, his backside up in the air, and pressed the screwdriver against the wire while apparently listening at the same time. Ashley stood over him and watched curiously.

'You picking up football on that thing or something? What are you listening to?'

'The place looks abandoned but there seems to be plenty of energy running through these wires.' He frowned a little. 'A _lot_ of plenty.'

'Where is it coming from?'

'Somewhere underground. Must be some kind of power core or something…'

'But there's no one here for the power to go to.' Ashley pointed out, puzzled.

The Doctor got to his feet, brushing himself off. 'Looks like that, doesn't it?' He stood quietly for a moment, musing over their current situation. Then he beamed at Ashley and ruffled her hair. 'Maybe your childish lever-pulling wasn't so bad after all.'

Ashley moved away from under his hand and grimaced. 'Don't do that again.'

He was already heading away down the street, his hands tucked into his pockets. 'Come on then. You were so keen to come along, so keep up!'

Ashley smoothed her hair down and frowned after him. With an unhappy grumble, she jogged to catch up, hopping over the cracks in the pavement.

* * *


	2. Without A Trace

**Chapter Two **

**Without a Trace**

It wasn't long before they came across a building with a sign planted outside reading; 'Records Office'. It too, like all the other buildings between them and the Tardis, looked deserted and ready to come down. Ashley looked up at it, unimpressed.

'Why have we come here? All the files and records are probably soggy or have been eaten by moths and stuff.'

'Everything is kept on the computers.' The Doctor told her. 'These wires are still pumping juice through them so they'll be okay to come on. Anyway, they practically keep everything on computers in _your_ time. What makes you think they'd resort to paper again?'

Ashley shuffled on her feet. 'I didn't think of that.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'Come on.'

He made his way up the steps and Ashley followed, taking a quick glance around. It was weird how there didn't appear to be anyone around…

The door creaked noisily and the Doctor found he had to put all his weight against it to open it. A few overgrown plants snapped and a few leaves fluttered down onto the two of them.

'What are you hoping to find?' Ashley asked, brushing the leaves from her hair.

'Maybe evacuation notices,' the Doctor replied. 'Something that would explain everyone's disappearance.'

Inside was quite dim, taking the plants outside were blocking most of the windows. They had also grown across the floor. Desks and chairs were upturned everywhere. It didn't look like anyone had stepped foot in the room for years.

'I bet it's the plants.' Ashley commented as they moved further inside. 'It'll be like in Jumanji. You know, when the big vines come and out of the forest and grab that guys car. It was the vines that did that, wasn't it? God it's been years since I've seen Jumanji.'

'Well as soon as we're finished up here we'll go and buy it for you.' The Doctor replied. 'But for the time being can you just keep your eyes open for any computers that haven't been broken? Thanks.'

Ashley frowned. 'You've been a bit irritable since we left that farmhouse, Doctor. What is it?'

The Doctor shook his head. 'I'm not irritable.'

'You are. You're getting snappy.'

'I'm not snappy.'

'Yes you are.'

'No I'm not.'

'You are.'

'I'm not!'

'Is it what that Lily woman said? Because I wouldn't take any notice of her. She was a bit crazy.'

The Doctor turned to her with wide eyes. 'I'm fine, okay!' he cried in exasperation. 'Stop being so…' He pulled a face as he searched for the word and wiggled his fingers. 'Niggly!'

'Niggly?' Ashley looked at him in bewilderment. 'What the hell is that?'

'It's you getting on my nerves.' The Doctor replied, as he turned away and continued through the dishevelled room. 'So please stop.'

Ashley snorted. 'Well then.' she grumbled, following him. 'There's no need to be rude. I was only asking.'

The Doctor didn't respond and they moved through a few more rooms, all in the same condition – broken and practically empty. There were no computers anywhere. Ashley pointed this out a couple of times, but the Doctor didn't seem interested.

'So… what's the deal then?' Ashley asked.

'It looks like all the electronic equipment has been taken from here.' The Doctor said, scratching his head. 'It could be looters… but there's things in here that a looter wouldn't leave behind. Unless they specifically wanted the computers…' He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

While he was doing this, Ashley poked around the debris on the floor. Kicking aside a broken desk with her foot, she saw a flat screen monitor. 'Hey,' she called. 'Maybe you can fix this one up with your magnificent pen light.'

The Doctor joined her side and stooped down, picking the monitor up and examining it. 'It seems to be in tact…' he mused, rising to his feet and taking it across the room. He sat down cross-legged with it and plugged one of the black wires into the back of it. He sat there, fiddling with it with his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth and looking a little like a chimp trying to figure out how to get inside. Ashley giggled.

'What's so funny?' the Doctor asked, glancing to her.

She shook her head, still smiling. 'Nothing. Nothing. Carry on.'

He looked at her curiously and then pulled out the sonic screwdriver. He pressed it on the screen and pushed the button.

'Won't it need a keyboard or a tower block or something?' Ashley asked, hunkering down beside him. 'Not that I know the first things about computers.'

'Nope.' The Doctor replied. 'These are all mind controlled. It's a bit like my psychic paper, you just think of what you want to see and the computer will put it on the screen.'

Ashley looked impressed. 'Wow. So… if I just happened to smuggle this under my t-shirt, take it back to 2008 and get it patented…'

The Doctor looked at her disapprovingly.

'Don't tell me you've never been tempted.' Ashley laughed. 'If you never wanted to do that then I feel really sorry for you.'

'Oh I did.' The Doctor said with a small nod. 'I went to the fifties with a roll of bubble wrap.'

Ashley looked at him in amazement. 'You did? Well what happened?'

The Doctor lowered his head. 'Well… I kind of left it. In a café.'

'You left it in a café.'

'It would have been okay if that Al Fielding bloke hadn't been vouching for my seat and went on to nick it.' The Doctor grumbled. 'Just downright rude that was.'

Ashley chuckled, amused by the story. 'Out of all the things you could have chosen to _invent_, you chose bubble wrap. That's a good choice. I love bubble wrap.'

The Doctor beamed at her. 'Me too.' The monitor in his hands flicked into life. 'Ah-hah! Now we're talking.'

Ashley looked at the screen, but it was just blank. 'It's not on.' She told him.

'Hang on.' The Doctor replied. 'Okay… first up look for any evacuation records…'

The screen went white, and then the words '_Searching for Evacuation Records'_popped up on the screen. A moment later, it said, _'No Evacuation Records'_.

The Doctor frowned. 'Well there's that theory out of the window.'

'They would have a record of everyone, right?' Ashley asked. 'So they would have something saying how many people lived here.'

The Doctor nodded. _'Searching Population Records' _appeared on the screen. Then a fast moving list of names rolled up the screen, seeming to go on forever.

'That's a lot of people.' Ashley nodded.

'_At last count, there were 390,023 Citizens_'

'So when was the last count?' she asked.

The Doctor frowned. 'That can't be right.' He said. 'According to this, the count was taken right now. Apparently there are 390,023 citizens living here, right now.'

'Well that's impossible. There's no one here.'

The Doctor sighed, drumming his fingers on the sides of the monitor. 'So it seems…' He focused his attention on the monitor again and his awareness of Ashley vanished. Ashley already knew not to disturb him when he was in such deep thought, so she got to her feet and moseyed around the room. Finding nothing of interest on the floor, she moved to the window and peered out between the plants.

Surely if the computer was saying there were over 300,000 people here, it must be broken. It had been lying on the floor underneath a broken desk for god knows how long, so it would be understandable if it were screwing up a bit. But if it _wasn't_ screwing up… Where could everyone be? The Doctor said it seemed like there was a massive power core underground. Could they be underground? Maybe. If they were underground, why would they be underground? Maybe it was simpler than that. The wires were running into the houses, so maybe they were just inside their houses.

Maybe it was a Sunday?

Ashley was snapped out of her thoughts by a familiar sound. She frowned, and looked around outside. The sound of feet on concrete was getting louder. 'Doctor,' she said quickly. 'I think there's someone out there.'

The Doctor got up and moved to her side. 'Where?'

'Can you hear?'

He listened, and nodded. The two of them watched as a young man ran into view, heading up the street with a sack over his shoulder. The Doctor immediately ran for the door, and Ashley quickly followed.

'Hey!' the Doctor yelled after the running figure.

The young man either ignored him or didn't hear him as he continued running. Without hesitation, the Doctor raced after him up the street. Ashley paused in the doorway, mentally cursed the fact she had to run again, and then followed quickly.


	3. Looking For Answers

**Chapter 3**

**Looking For Answers**

The young man could run fast and was even giving the Doctor a hard time in catching up. He almost lost him when he turned up a side street, but luckily he had continued down the main road on the other side of the alley, remaining out in the open to be seen. Ashley was struggling to keep up with the Doctor, let alone the young man. She ran along, panting heavily.

She wasn't built for this amount of running.

'Get those knees up!' the Doctor called back to her. 'We're losing him!'

Ashley scowled and tried running harder. The Doctor caught sight of the man slow to a trot, and then push his way into one of the houses. He followed quickly, pausing outside of the house to allow Ashley to catch up.

'I… hate… running…' she panted, hands on her knees.

'No time for that.' The Doctor told her. 'Come on.'

He pushed the stiff door open and went inside. Ashley stumbled after him, trying to slow her racing heart and blink away the black spots that were threatening her vision. To her bewilderment, the Doctor didn't even look out of breath.

'Hello?' the Doctor called out. The house was in similar condition to the records office. It certainly didn't look like anyone lived here. 'Is anyone here?'

There was a shuffle and a thud from somewhere above, and then footsteps. Ashley grimaced, pushing her hair from her face. 'If he runs again…'

'We followed you up the street,' the Doctor called. 'We just want to ask you a few things.'

More shuffling. Another bang. Then footsteps. A moment later the young man appeared at the top of the stairs in front of them, looking surprised. He walked halfway down, his blue eyes flicking between the two of them in bewilderment.

'Who are you?' he asked.

He looked no older than twenty-five, with light brown hair that was parted in the middle and messily covered one of his eyes. He was handsome, but looked run down.

The Doctor smiled. 'I'm the Doctor and this is Ashley.'

Ashley, taken aback by the young mans good looks, smiled goofily and waved. 'Hi.'

'Where is everyone?' the Doctor asked, getting straight to the point. 'This place looks like its been abandoned.'

The young man looked even more confused. 'How did you both get here? This colony hasn't been open for visitors for nearly ten years now.'

The Doctor shrugged. 'Ah, we were just passing through and noticed that there didn't seem to be anyone around. Which we thought was odd, the way it seemed like everyone just upped and left. And it was also strange that we checked the population records and there are over 300,000 people living here, right now.'

The young man blinked. 'It's down to that many, huh?'

'What do you mean, down?'

The young man glanced back up the stairs. 'Look, I'm kind of in the middle of a job and I'm already running late. Can you just hang on a minute?' Without waiting for a response, he turned and went back up the stairs.

'What do you think?' Ashley whispered.

'I'm thinking the answer to whatever is going on here is up those stairs.' The Doctor replied, and headed up.

Ashley went to follow, but caught sight of her reflection in a dusty mirror on the wall. She paused, straightened her hair with her fingers, and then continued after the Doctor. Upstairs, the floor was thick with dust and a few plants had managed to make their way onto the landing. The Doctor and Ashley followed the sound of the young man moving around in one of the rooms, and then came to a pause outside the door.

'All the wires are going in here.' Ashley pointed out.

The Doctor knelt down to inspect the bunch of black wires that ran through the wall. They were all bound together with string and the hole in the wall didn't exactly look like it had been made with care. Ashley put her hand on the door handle and looked to the Doctor. He nodded in response and she pulled it open.

At first the young man was invisible amongst the wires and electronic equipment, but at the sound of the door opening his head popped up on the other side of the room and he frowned. 'When I said hang on a minute, I meant wait downstairs.'

The Doctor ignored the young man's irritation and moved inside the room, curiously looking around. 'Did you set up all of this?'

'Me?' The young man laughed. 'No. No, I'm nowhere near that handy.'

'This is all very crudely done,' the Doctor continued, examining a batch of wires that hung down from the ceiling. 'The wires look like they're from a range of things. All soldered together.'

Ashley headed across the room, pushing wires aside and stepping over others, towards the young man. He was now standing with his back to them, fiddling with something out of sight.

'You're acting like you really don't know what's going on here.' He said. 'Where did you say you were from?'

'We didn't.' the Doctor replied.

The young man half frowned. 'Oh. Right.'

'So who built all of this then?' the Doctor enquired, frowning at a stretch of cable.

'Harrison Cartwright.' The young man replied. 'Took him one hell of a long time too. If what he had created wasn't so awful, I would call him a genius.'

'Awful?' This caught the Doctor's attention.

Ashley reached the young man's side and looked to see what he was doing. When she registered what she was looking at, she gasped and put her hand to her mouth. 'Oh my God… Doctor.'

The Doctor made his way over through the jungle of wires. His eyes widened. The woman who lay on the bed was barely recognisable with the amount of wires that were attached to her, the majority of them attached to her shaved head. Her eyes were covered with thick, blacked out goggles. She was surrounded by various machines, one of them showing her life signs and giving off a low, monotonous beep. The young man was in the middle of putting up a drip beside the bed, the other end of it attached to the back of the woman's hand.

'What is this?' the Doctor frowned.

The young man sighed. 'This is improved life.' He replied. 'Virtually improved.'


	4. All Work And No Play

**Chapter Four**

**All Work And No Play…**

Ashley stood by the bed, chewing her thumbnail and staring at the woman's thin, pale body. The young man, who had finally introduced himself as Mitchell, was watching the drip and checking his watch. The Doctor was tracing where every wire that was attached to the woman was coming from.

'She's one of the more adapted VR players.' Mitchell explained. 'Been plugged in for about eleven years now. She was one of the first.'

'She's been like this for eleven years?' Ashley breathed in disbelief. 'How is she still alive?'

'Not all of us fell for the apparent luxuries of VR life.' Mitchell replied. 'Our friends and families were killing themselves with this stuff. There are a few of us who don't want to see it happen, and spend most of our time going around and cleaning them up, settling up drips and stuff so they don't starve to death or whatever. But there aren't many of us and there's only so much we can do. A lot of people end up dying.'

'Well good on you for not plugging in yourself, Mitchell.' The Doctor praised, examining one of the machines around the bed. 'Very strong of you. It's a shame the others didn't follow your example.'

'Like I said, there's a few of us.' Mitchell shrugged. 'Although every few weeks someone just loses it and plugs in. More people to look after and less people to do it. We barely have time to look after ourselves.'

'Are you not getting help from outside?' The Doctor asked, turning his full attention to Mitchell. 'Or did you cut ties? I've heard of a few colonies that cut ties with everyone else and lived quite happily in their own way. Of course I've never seen one go to hell in a hand basket as quickly as this one has.'

'Most of the communication equipment was pulled apart to set these up.' Mitchell explained. 'We haven't even got short wave radios anymore. There's a looped recording playing and telling people not to land here, so no one bothers because they probably think everyone here has gone feral. If we're not asking for help, then no one bothers to give it.'

'But you need help, right?' Ashley asked.

Mitchell nodded glumly. 'As much as possible.'

'So where is this Mr Cartwright?' The Doctor asked with a sigh. 'Because I would like to have a few words with him.'

'I think you'll have a job talking with him.' Mitchell shook his head glumly. 'The guy has been plugged in for twelve years. He only comes out of it every ten months to make sure everything is okay.'

'He thinks this is okay?' Ashley frowned. 'He must be a nutter.'

'Now Ashley,' the Doctor told her. 'We don't judge until we've had a good argument with him, okay?'

Ashley shrugged. 'Okay.'

'Is he due to unplug soon?'

Mitchell shook his head. 'I think he's got another six months.'

'Well we're just going to have to wake him a bit earlier.' The Doctor beamed. 'Come on, you're going to take us to see him.'

Mitchell looked warily at them both. 'He's in deep play.' He told them. 'You're not just going to barge in there and pull the plug, are you?'

The Doctor grinned again. 'Of course not! That would be a bit brash, don't you think? C'mon, we haven't got all day you know.'

He headed back out of the room, ducking under wires and went out of the door. Ashley glanced to Mitchell and shrugged her shoulders. 'He gets really into this kind of thing.' She told him with a smile.

Mitchell only looked at her, and then headed out. Ashley trotted behind him, admiring his hair.

* * *

It was eerily silent outside as the three of them made their way down the deserted street. Mitchell was carrying a rucksack and walking quickly, probably more out of habit than anything else. The Doctor walked easily alongside him and Ashley had to half walk and half jog to keep up.

'I hate this place,' Mitchell sighed, shaking his head. 'Eight out of ten houses on each street have someone plugged in inside. That's about 78 per cent of the colony. The original colony, anyway. There were 500,000 people here before Harrison Cartwright turned up with his genius invention.'

'What's so genius about it?' Ashley asked. 'I mean, they've had virtual reality stuff around for a while now, haven't they?'

'I'm guessing that Harrison Cartwright's version is a little more sophisticated than the tennis playing VR machines you've seen.' The Doctor told her. 'Remember the computers we were looking for in the records office? The ones that can show you what you want just by thinking?'

Ashley nodded.

'Well the machines that had been built were made mainly out of that technology. The way I see it, when you plug in, the machine taps into your subconscious and shows you the things you want to see, basically giving you everything you've ever wanted.'

'But surely if it taps into your subconscious then it can bring out the bad things too,' Ashley frowned. 'Like… giving you your worst nightmare instead.'

The Doctor nodded. 'I guess people just unplug if something happens they don't like.'

'No,' Mitchell told them. 'There's a filter filtering out any negative thoughts. Anything that tries to disrupt the peace is classed as a virus and is subsequently wiped out play.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Then Cartwright thought of almost everything to make a perfect, virtual Utopia.'

Ashley shuddered. 'Are people's lives that bad they would basically just lie down and die like that? Because that's what they're doing.'

The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder. 'If offered everything in the world that you've ever wanted; every fantasy and every dream to come true, would you pass it up?'

'It wouldn't be coming true though. It's just a machine.'

The Doctor smiled and patted her shoulder. 'Good answer. I knew there was a reason I let you come.'

Ashley beamed at him. 'See?' She pointed at her head. 'Not just a hat rack.'

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow and smiled. Mitchell glanced at them both curiously.

'Who are you two anyway? You just turn up out of nowhere and demand to know what's going on. Are you inspectors are something?' He glanced to Ashley. 'Because you don't look like inspectors.'

'We're just… travelling.' The Doctor replied. 'Passing through.'

Mitchell nodded. 'Then I guess it's alright for some.'

The Doctor and Ashley's smiles faded and they glanced at each other. The three of them turned the corner and Mitchell nodded ahead. 'That's his place.' He reported, nodding to a house larger than any of the others. It was in better condition also, with only a couple of creepers growing up the sides and all the windows were in tact.

'Well it's nice to see he gets some DIY done every few months.' Ashley commented.

'Come on,' Mitchell told them. 'I've still got a load of jobs to do today, so we'll have to be quick.'

* * *

Inside the house was surprisingly clean and clear. None of the furniture was broken or upturned like in the other houses. It was a little dusty, but that was all. Mitchell, moving quickly as ever, went straight on up the stairs. The Doctor and Ashley went up after him.

The room in which Harrison Cartwright lay plugged in was large and crammed with wires and machinery, all practically identical to the things in the woman's house. He lay on a large, four poster bed with an IV attached to his arm and wires attached to nearly every part of his body. The machine beside his bed beeped slowly and monotonously.

'It'll take two weeks to rouse him,' Mitchell explained. 'I'll have to shut down his machines one by one and gradually wean him out of play. It can be distressing for the brain to come out of such a convincing world and into a new one.'

'We haven't got two weeks.' The Doctor replied, approaching the bed.

'What are you talking about?' Ashley smirked. 'We've got all the time in the world.'

'I've got no time for this man.' The Doctor replied, circling around the side of the bed.

Mitchell looked uneasy. 'If you just unplug him you could kill him.'

'Could?' the Doctor asked, eyebrows rising curiously.

Ashley frowned. 'Doctor…'

'I think we can take the risk.' The Doctor shrugged, and before anyone could stop him, he pulled the master plug out of the machine. The beeping stopped.


	5. Better Than Life

**Chapter Five**

**Better Than Life**

'What have you done?' Mitchell cried, running to the side of the bed. 'You've killed him!'

The Doctor stepped back, pushing his hands in his pockets and shook his head. 'He's not dead. He'll probably have one heck of a headache though.'

Ashley was shocked. She stared at him in disbelief. 'Doctor!' she cried, horrified.

'He's fine.' The Doctor frowned. 'I figured if it's okay for him to gamble with the future of everyone in the colony then I could gamble with his future.'

Mitchell checked Harrison Cartwright's pulse and let out a sigh. 'Well he's alive.' He turned and glared at the Doctor. 'You can't just do that, okay? The brain is very fragile. You rip it out of one world and toss it back into another without having time to adapt and…'

'He's alive!' The Doctor threw his hands up in annoyance. 'He's not dead.'

Ashley grabbed the Doctor and pulled him away from the bed. 'What the hell was that all about?' she hissed. 'If you're going to start playing chicken with you as the truck and everyone else as the kid in the road then I think we should get the hell out of here right now.'

'Not until I've spoken with him.' The Doctor jabbed a finger in the direction of the man on the bed.

Ashley grabbed his finger and scowled. 'You want to snap out of whatever has you riled up. If you're going to be a grumpy and irrational bastard then I want you to take me home right now.'

The Doctor held her gaze for a moment and then let out a short burst of hair through his nose. 'Okay.'

'You're going to chill out a bit?'

'Yes.'

'Mr Cartwright, can you hear me?' Mitchell began to remove the wires and took the blacked out goggles from his eyes.

The Doctor and Ashley glanced across to the bed to see the man stirring. The Doctor started forward, but Ashley grabbed his arm and frowned.

'Wha… where…?' The man's forehead wrinkled, but he didn't attempt to open his eyes.

'Can one of you close the curtains?' Mitchell asked bitterly. 'His eyes will be sensitive.'

The Doctor didn't move. Ashley shot him an annoyed look and made her way across to the window, drawing the heavy curtains over the huge window. The old man continued to stir and mutter. Mitchell kept one hand on his chest.

'I'm sorry for the abrupt removal, Mr Cartwright,' he said gently. 'Can you hear me?'

The old man's eyes opened. He squinted, blinked, and reached up and rubbed his face. 'Mitchell?' he muttered in confusion. 'Where's Karen?'

Mitchell sighed. 'Karen is in the game, Harrison. The plug was pulled. You're not there anymore.'

Harrison tried to prop himself up. 'Who pulled the plug…?'

'That would have been me.' The Doctor said, stepping towards the bed. 'I suppose I should apologise, despite the fact I really don't want to…' He caught Ashley's angry glare and sighed. 'I want to talk with you, and I couldn't wait two weeks.'

'You pulled my plug?' Harrison scowled, propping himself up and squinting at the Doctor. 'Are you insane? You could have killed me.'

The Doctor shrugged. 'Nothing different to what you've done.'

Mitchell got to his feet. 'Look, I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just swan in here and harass a man that's been plugged in for four months!'

The Doctor looked sympathetically at Mitchell. 'I have no problem with you. I admire you, so please don't get involved here.'

Mitchell scowled. 'I want you to get the hell out of here.' He turned and frowned at Ashley. 'Both of you. You're not welcome here.'

'It's okay, Mitchell.' Harrison said, pushing himself up the bed and into a sitting position. 'I'd like to know what is so important that this man decided he could risk my life to speak to me about it.'

The Doctor nodded. 'That's better. See, I told you he would be fine.'

Ashley crossed her arms and leaned close to the Doctor. 'I think we should just leave.' She whispered. 'You're just causing trouble.'

'Me, cause trouble? Nah.' He narrowed his eyes briefly at Harrison Cartwright. 'But we're going to be talking about boring things, so how about you and Mitchell go and have a look around, eh? See the sights.'

Ashley looked warily to the other two strangers in the room. 'I don't really think that's a good idea…'

'Please,' Harrison nodded. 'I think I would prefer that. Mitchell, you don't mind keeping the young girl amused while… I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name.'

'I'm the Doctor.'

Harrison continued. 'While the Doctor and I chat a while.'

Ashley frowned. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

The Doctor moved close to her. 'I won't be long, okay?'

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, and then exhaled sharply. 'Right. Whatever.' She glanced at the old man. 'Come on then, Mitch.'

Mitchell hesitated. Harrison nodded to him and smiled softly. 'It's okay, son.'

Mitchell frowned at the Doctor, and then headed out. Ashley followed, not taking her eyes off the Doctor until she was out of the room. The two men left behind stared at each other in silence for a few moments.

'So what can I do for you, Doctor?' Harrison asked, clasping his hands on his lap. He was old, with sparse grey hair and jowls that quivered when he spoke. Despite the fact he laid in bed the majority of the time, he looked incredibly healthy.

'So, Mitchell tells me you've killed about… 100,000 people in the last ten… fifteen years?' The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, not taking his eyes off Harrison.

Harrison frowned. 'Excuse me, Doctor?'

'Well… Mitchell didn't say you killed them all as such, but it sure sounds that way. He said that before you came along there were 500,000 people living in this colony. Just now Ashley and I checked and there is only 390,023 people left. And I'm guessing two of them are Ashley and myself. So yeah… that would be a little over 100,000 people dead by your hand. How does that make you feel? Does that make you feel _powerful_, Mr Cartwright?'

Harrison narrowed his eyes briefly. 'If you must know, it makes me feel incredible.'

The Doctor frowned and leaned back slightly. He hadn't been expecting that response.

'I hope you're not disappointed Doctor,' Harrison said, pushing aside the bed covers and swinging his legs out. His knees cracked noisily as he bent them. 'But you're not the first person to come in here and accuse me of mass murder. But you know what I tell all of them and what I'm about to tell you?' He got to his feet unsteadily. 'I give people a choice. I never forced anyone to plug into these machines. I tell them that they can either live their lives moderately happy and plod along with work and that kind of thing, or they can live in their own world, where they don't have to worry about anything and can enjoy their time, whether it is thirty years or thirty days. Personally I would prefer to live in perfect happiness for a month than to just _exist_ for the rest of my life.'

The Doctor got to his feet. 'This people _were_ happy until you came along with your fake worlds. It was you who convinced them that they _were_ unhappy in the first place!'

'Nonsense.' Harrison scoffed. 'When they heard about what I was doing, they came to me.'

'So you see nothing wrong with the deaths of all those people?'

Harrison turned and frowned at the Doctor. 'I did nothing. I offered these people a better life.'

The Doctor scowled. 'You took their lives from them.'

Harrison shrugged his frail shoulders. 'I didn't hear them complaining.' He shuffled towards the windows. He opened the curtains and winced at the bright light. 'And besides,' he turned and looked at the Doctor. 'Everyone dies eventually, Doctor.'

* * *

_Thanks everyone who's reading :D But OMG how awesome was tonight's Doctor Who?! :o You Americans have got a good one to look forward to! xD_


	6. Ruined Lives

**Chapter Six**

**Ruined Lives**

Ashley scampered alongside Mitchell and asked him for the third time if he would mind just slowing down a teeny tiny bit. He glanced to her impatiently, and then slowed a little.

'I'm sorry,' he told her through gritted teeth. 'It's just your friend annoyed me. He doesn't seem to understand how sensitive some people can be after being unplugged.'

'I'm sure he knew what he was doing,' Ashley replied. 'He knows a lot about… stuff.'

Mitchell shook his head, unimpressed. 'I might hate this place and I might hate those machines, but I don't hate the people. It's their choice. Just like it's my choice to help them.'

'The Doctor just gets… well… he's sensitive.' Ashley shrugged her shoulders, not knowing any other way to describe him. 'He gets upset when he sees people kind of… wasting their lives.'

'Yeah well wasting lives isn't much different from risking lives in my book.' Mitchell replied. 'Mr Cartwright could have died right there and then.'

Ashley nodded grimly. 'Yeah I know.'

Mitchell sighed heavily and looked at his watch. 'I'm not leaving them for long. We'll do one job, and then we're heading back, okay?'

'That's fine with me.' Ashley nodded. 'I'm like you. I don't want to leave him on his own for too long.'

Mitchell glanced at her. 'You think he might do something?'

'What? Oh no… No way. He just… he gets riled up. Hard to calm down again, you know? Like a kid when you tell them they can't have any Jelly Tots.'

Mitchell glanced at her in bewilderment.

'The sweets?' Ashley offered.

His expression didn't change.

'Doesn't matter.' Ashley sighed.

They walked on. Mitchell began to quicken again, but when he noticed her jogging to keep up, he slowed down again. He seemed reluctant to make conversation with her. Maybe after he saw the Doctor unplugging the old man the way he had done, he automatically didn't like her either. Which was a shame, because Ashley liked him.

'So why didn't you plug in?' Ashley asked.

Mitchell shrugged my shoulders. 'I guess I was lucky. I was young when they started getting popular. I didn't see what all the fuss was about. So I watched my family and my friends plug in, and I saw what happened to them. I didn't want to end up like that. I didn't want to end up dying and stinking in my own bed and not even knowing what was happening to me. I couldn't live my life knowing that nothing was real.'

Ashley looked at him sympathetically. 'So your parents just plugged in?'

Mitchell shrugged. 'I think they thought I was going to as well. Or maybe they didn't think of me at all. Either way, they died quickly. They starved in their beds. I didn't know what was happening to them. I didn't realise that they were dying until it was too late.'

'Wow. I'm sorry.'

Mitchell shook his head. 'It's nobodies fault. They chose it. They knew what would happen to them.'

'Then why don't you just leave here? Why do you keep looking after these people even though you know they're going to die?'

'Everyone dies eventually. But I'm not going to let everyone die. I'd like to think I can keep them happy for longer.'

'But what about you? You're not happy.'

Mitchell glanced to her sadly. 'Some of us have to make sacrifices for the people we love.'

Ashley offered him a small smile. 'It's good that you can do that. You're a good person.'

Mitchell smiled back slightly. 'Thank you.' He replied.

He seemed to relax a little and slow down to her pace of walking. They headed to the next job site both feeling a little less tense.

* * *

The Doctor stood against the wall in Harrison Cartwright's bedroom and watched as Harrison poured himself a glass of water. He turned to the Doctor and offered the jug. The Doctor held up his hand and shook his head.

'Suit yourself.' Harrison replied, setting the jug back down. He took a long drink from the glass and sighed in satisfaction when he finished. 'I needed that.'

The Doctor only watched him silently. He had been quiet since Harrison had broadcasted his feelings on his VR invention. He wondered if he was in the wrong to be feeling the way he did about it. After all, like Harrison said, no one was forced into plugging in. But still… if it hadn't been introduced in the first place…

He couldn't help the way he felt.

'So what now?' The Doctor asked with a shrug. 'You're just going to plug yourself back in and let Mitchell run around after you? Wasting his life by keeping yours going?'

'I don't ask him to do anything for me.' Harrison replied, shuffling over to the window. 'I have never asked anyone to do anything. I have never _told_ anyone to do anything. I created this because _I_ wanted it. Others just decided they wanted it too. Is that a crime?'

The Doctor thought for a moment. 'It depends on your stance.'

'Then what is your stance, Doctor?'

'I think you already know that, Mr Cartwright.'

'Please, call me Harrison.'

'I think I'll stick to Mr Cartwright.'

Harrison chuckled. 'You know, Doctor, you remind me of myself when I was your age. I was adamant that I was always right. As you get older you realise that you can be wrong about a few things.'

'Oh I am older. I'm old enough to know that I _am_ always right.'

Harrison eyed him for a moment. 'So why are you really here, Doctor? Why did you send your friend away? It's obvious you want more than a debate over right and wrong with me.'

'I want you to shut these things down. I want everyone on this planet unplugged.'

There was a flash of anger in Harrison's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He smiled thinly. 'Why do you think it is such a bad thing? Do you want to know what I do for ten months of the year? I go to my house by the lake with my wife, Karen. She died twenty years ago. In fact, she is the reason I built this for myself. I couldn't live in a world without her, so I created one.'

'That's fair enough. But you could have kept this to yourself. You didn't have to share it with everyone else.'

'And why should I refuse people happiness?'

'You're refusing people their _life_. Hooked up to a _machine_, that's not life. You know it's not. You have an excuse for hooking up to it – it's because you're _weak_ and you couldn't get over the death of your wife. Did you really have to give it to people with families? With real _lives_? Or did it annoy you that they could get on with their lives while you couldn't? Is that what it was, Mr Cartwright? Jealousy?'

Harrison stood, his eyes furious and his fists clenched by his sides. 'I am _not_ weak, Doctor.'

The Doctor moved forward. 'You turn off these machines, Mr Cartwright. You let these people live their lives.'

'Do you know what would happen if I took everyone out of their new worlds? They would take one look around at the overgrown plants and their weakened, withered bodies and they would kill themselves, Doctor. There would be thousands more dead people, and that would be _your_ fault. _You_ would be the bigger killer.'

'I would help them adapt. I would stay as long as it takes to help them.'

Harrison snorted angrily. 'You'd be killing them, Doctor. What gives you the right to take away someone's dreams like that?'

'What gives _you_ the right to change their lives like that?' The Doctor glared at him, and then moved around to the machine by the bed. 'If you won't do it, I'll do it myself.'

Harrison watched him, shuddering with anger. The Doctor stood with his back to the old man, examining one of the computers. Harrison looked around, his eyes wide and wild. He grabbed the pain plug that had been recently plugged in his right temple – a thin needle that went into the brain without damaging it – and moved quickly towards the Doctor.

Before the Doctor had a chance to register what was happening, he felt a sharp pain in the right side of his head. He yelled out in agony, and his body stiffened. He slumped over on the bed, his eyes wide and bulging. He saw Harrison's angered face above him.

'Try it for yourself, Doctor,' Harrison told him bitterly. 'I'm sure you'll change your mind.'

The images around him faded into green, and then the world as he knew it vanished.

* * *

_Lots of updates today because I might not get to write another chapter for a day or so... blame the universities, not me :p _


	7. Plugged In

**Chapter Seven**

**Plugged In**

Ashley and Mitchell left the house of a man who had been plugged in for nine years and appreciated the fresh air. The house had reeked and had been hot and stuffy. While Mitchell had cleaned the man up, Ashley had watched him and wondered how he could possibly do this every day. She knew she wouldn't be able to. Mitchell must have had a lot of determination.

Ashley admired him for it.

'I'll take you back to Mr Cartwright's house.' He told her, glancing at his watch. 'But then I should really carry on. I didn't get very far at all today after running into you two.'

'Sorry about that.' Ashley smiled. 'It seems we're making a habit in just dropping in on people. At least he does it all the time… I'm new at all of this.'

Mitchell glanced to her briefly. 'So are you married?'

Ashley laughed too loudly. 'No! No way. Ha, nope…' She lifted her hand. 'See? No wedding ring.'

'Okay.' He only looked a little confused by her outburst. 'So why are you travelling with him?'

'We're just friends.' Ashley nodded.

Mitchell nodded. 'So where do you go when you travel? Do you have a ship?'

Ashley shrugged. 'Well I guess it's a ship. We've only really been three places… and I suppose one of them doesn't count because it was my town.' She laughed. 'But it's good. He has a death wish, but it's good.'

'He puts you in danger?' Mitchell frowned.

'What? No… it's not like that.' Ashley tried to think of how to explain it, but the more the thought about it the more it would sound like the Doctor just liked to run into trouble. Which he did. 'He's just curious. If there's something going on he likes to go and see what it is. He's clever though. He doesn't let anything bad happen. He only tries to help.'

Mitchell shrugged his shoulders. 'Well maybe there's some things he should just keep out of.'

Ashley frowned slightly. She didn't want to get into an argument with him. 'If you knew him you wouldn't feel that way about him.'

'And do you really know him that well?'

Ashley didn't answer. She looked ahead and saw Mr Cartwright's house. 'We're nearly there.' She said flatly.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

Ashley stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to Mitchell. He looked back at her in expectation, but whatever she had wanted to say to him evaporated when he settled those pretty blue eyes on her. She swallowed, and then half smiled.

'You shouldn't be so quick to judge the Doctor you know. He's a good man.'

Mitchell shrugged. 'If he does something to change my opinion, then I'll change it.'

Ashley looked at him for a moment, and then decided that he probably had better things to do that to listen to her try and defend the Doctor. He didn't care either. He had already made up his mind. She half nodded and then headed up the rest of the stairs.

'I have nothing against you, you know.' Mitchell said, walking behind her. 'You seem keen to help in the practical way. It's been a while since someone has helped me with a job.'

'Oh, I don't think I could do that every day.' Ashley shook her head. She put her hand on the handle and pushed open the door leading to Harrison's bedroom. 'I don't have the patience…'

She trailed off as she stepped in the room. At first she thought it was empty, but her gaze moved to the bed as Mitchell shoved past her and ran to it. She felt her stomach churning.

'Doctor!' she cried, running to the side of the bed.

He was slumped sideways on the bed, eyes bulging and staring right ahead. He was rigid and a single wire was attached to his temple. Mitchell was checking his pulse. Ashley shoved him aside and grabbed the Doctor, pulling him into her arms so she was cradling his head.

'Doctor!' she cried. 'Can you hear me? Doctor! Oh god, is he dead?' She looked into his widened eyes for a reaction. He stared straight ahead, his pupils just tiny pinpricks.

'He's alive,' Mitchell replied, pulling over one of the machines on a trolley. 'It's a good job we came back when we did.'

'What the hell happened?' Ashley demanded.

'You have to lie him down on the bed.' Mitchell told her calmly. 'Lie him flat.'

'What?' Ashley cried hysterically. 'No! Take this plug out of his head! Now!'

'I can't do that,' Mitchell told her, his voice remaining calm and level. 'He's just been plugged in. It takes the brain at least twenty-four hours to adapt to the new environment. You pull it out so quickly after it's been inserted and there's a eighty per cent chance of instant death.'

'Then what are you going to do?' Tears were now forming in Ashley's eyes. 'We can't leave him plugged in like this! Look at him! He's like… he's a bloody vegetable!'

Mitchell grabbed Ashley's shoulders and shook her once, hard. 'You're going to have to calm down.' He told her sternly. 'I need to lie him flat and set him up. If he stays like this then he'll die for sure, okay? Now move out of the way.'

Ashley scowled. 'You don't-'

'Move!' Mitchell demanded. 'Now!'

Ashley gritted her teeth and frowned at him, but she reluctantly let go of the Doctor and stepped back. She watched as Mitchell pulled him up the bed and lay him down. He closed the Doctor's eyes lightly with his fingers, and picked up another wire.

'Wait, what's that?' Ashley demanded. 'You're not putting more wires in him, are you?'

Mitchell turned and frowned at her. 'Do you want him to die? Then let me do this.'

Ashley crossed her arms and watched, biting her lip. Mitchell attached three separate wires to the Doctor's head, and then placed the blackout goggles over his eyes. He stepped back and scratched his head.

'We're going to have to leave him for twenty-four hours.' He said. 'So he can become adapted. Then we can start the unplugging process, but that can take up to two weeks.'

'Two weeks?' Ashley cried. 'I can't wait that long! I can't wait two weeks!'

Mitchell looked to her sympathetically. 'There's nothing else to do. If we pull the plug out right now, he could just die.'

'But Harrison didn't die!' Ashley insisted. 'Speaking of him, where the bloody hell did he go? If he did this I'm going to kill him.' She gritted her teeth and held up a finger. 'I swear to god I'll burn him alive.'

'Calm down.' Mitchell told her. 'Don't lose your head or we'll never be able to get him out.'

Ashley sighed sharply. 'I can't wait two weeks.' She insisted.

Mitchell glanced down at the still Doctor. 'The only other way is to get him to want to come out. Once he's in there he can bring himself out whenever he wants. After the twenty-four hours, of course. But twenty four hours is usually the amount of time it takes for people to decide they want to stay.'

'He wouldn't want to stay.' Ashley told him. 'You saw how he reacted to this place. Those machines. He wouldn't want to stay plugged in. He wouldn't want to stay in a fake world!'

Mitchell looked at her grimly. 'Even the strongest of us can be drawn in.' he told her.

'No!' Ashley shook her head. 'He wouldn't! Where the hell could that machine take him that would make him leave everything behind? He can go anywhere!'

* * *

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he took in a deep, sharp breath. As soon as he did this, there was a sharp pain through his head and he let out a anguished yell. He rolled onto his back and his hands shot to his head. He scrunched his eyes shut, fighting the pain away.

What had happened? He couldn't remember. He had been in the Tardis with Ashley and then…

No… that wasn't the last thing. They were on a planet. An empty planet…

No, no that wasn't it either. The wires. The old man. Plugging in.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open once again and he gasped.

_He_ had been plugged in.

At first his eyes wouldn't focus. He squinted and frowned, finally managing to register the orange sky above him. The air was cool on his skin. He blinked slowly. Both his hearts were thudding. Slowly, he sat up and gazed around.

The silver leaves on the surrounding trees reflected the enormous orange sun in the sky, giving the illusion of burning. The Doctor gazed around in awe. He could smell the plants and he could feel the soft ground beneath his hands. He turned and looked behind him.

The Citadel stood in all of its glory, the dome glistening and shining in the light. Faintly, he could hear chattering. Voices. Music.

The Doctor unsteadily got to his feet. He rubbed his head. Then he smiled.

'I'm home…' he mumbled, and staggered towards the dome.


	8. Finally Happy

**Chapter Eight**

**Finally Happy**

The Doctor walked slowly through the high archway that led into the city, looking around in fascination. It was exactly the same as it had looked the last time he had seen it…

_Of course it does, the VR machine is just showing me what I remember_.

Even though he knew that, it felt so real. It was hard to believe that it was fake. But he had to remember it was fake, no matter how appealing it was. No matter how real it was…

He could still hear voices ahead, but there didn't seem to be anyone around. He walked down the path that the thought he would never walk down again, towards the looming Citadel. He was running on automatic pilot. Every rational inch of him was screaming not to fall for it, that none of it was real. None of it _could_ be real. Gallifrey was _gone_ and it was never coming back.

But yet here it was. The air was fresh and he could smell all the smells that sparked nostalgia in him. If it weren't real, he wouldn't be able to feel or smell. He wouldn't be able to taste the mild dampness in the air.

He approached the tall, golden doors and stood in front of them, his stomach twisted with nerves. Whoever the voices belonged to, they were on the other side of the door. The Doctor glanced down at himself and flattened the front of his suit. He couldn't possibly go inside dressed like this. Not after so long…

'Don't be stupid,' he muttered, annoyed with himself. 'This isn't _real_.'

He reached his hand out to open the door, but stopped, his fingertips brushing the golden handle. He swallowed hard. Why was he so nervous? There was absolutely no reason for him to be so nervous. He took in a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

There was no one on the other side. He frowned, stepping over the threshold, and looked around. He pushed his hands in his pockets.

'Hello?' he called.

He thought he heard whispering and strained to hear.

_He's here…_

_Finally…_

'Is there anyone here?' he called again. His foot trembled as he took a step and he scolded himself. 'Stop that right now.' he muttered.

'They're waiting for you.'

The Doctor whirled around on his heels, surprised to see a small person standing in the doorway through which he had just entered. The girl looked no older than four, with dark curly hair and vibrant green eyes. The Doctor took a step towards her.

'Who's waiting for me?'

The little girl smiled. 'Everyone.' She held out a small hand to him.

The Doctor hesitated. He knew she had been created by his subconscious. If he followed her, maybe he would never be able to get out of this place. He needed to get back and confront that Mr Cartwright for doing what he did…

'Are you coming?' the little girl giggled, still holding her hand out.

The Doctor hesitated, and then slowly he stepped forward. He took her hand. She beamed up at him, and led him down the corridor.

* * *

Ashley paced the floor, chewing her thumbnail anxiously. Mitchell was kneeling by the Doctor, still fixing various wires to his hands and head.

'Are all those really necessary?' Ashley snapped, irritated.

'If you want him to stay alive, yes.'

Ashley rolled her eyes and resumed pacing. 'How long has it been?'

'Twenty minutes.' Mitchell sighed. 'Look, Ashley. You're going to have to be patient. It's no good acting the way you are. We can't rush this.'

Ashley rubbed her face with both hands. 'I know I just… I can't believe this has happened. How the hell could it have happened?'

'By the way the Doctor was lying,' Mitchell shrugged. 'It looked like the plug was forced in his head. If he had plugged in himself he wouldn't have been in such an awkward position.'

'So it _was_ that bastard!' Ashley hissed. 'I knew it. I'm going to kill him.' She shook her head, scowling. 'How did he manage that anyway? He was just an old man? How could he have overpowered the Doctor?'

'My guess is that he got him from behind.' Mitchell said.

Ashley growled audibly. He glanced to her curiously. She began pacing again.

'Why don't you go out and get some fresh air?' he told her. 'We still have twenty three and a half hours before we can actually _do_ anything.'

Ashley shook her head. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'What good are you doing?' Mitchell snapped suddenly, face reddening with anger. 'You're moaning and getting angry and you're not doing _anything _of use. Get out of here and cool down. Then maybe you can do something productive instead of just get on my nerves!'

Ashley stared at him in shock. She stood for what seemed like a full minute with her mouth ajar, staring at him. 'Excuse me?' she muttered finally.

Mitchell glowered at her. 'Don't make me repeat myself.'

She was too stunned to argue with him. She turned slowly, and walked to the door. Still processing the fact Mitchell had just blew his top at her like that; she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. She closed it gently behind her.

'Well…' was the only word she could form. She moved to the top of the stairs and leaned against the banister, frowning in thought.

Why was she so worried? Twenty-four hours and the Doctor would probably unplug himself from inside the game. He wouldn't want to stay there. He was a clever man, and he would _know_ that it was fake, and he would know that it was killing him. He wouldn't lie down and die just like that. It wasn't his style.

He would be fine.

Ashley gripped tighter onto the banister.

If he was going to be fine, why did she feel like something terrible was coming?

She noticed something then, and her eyes narrowed. A little along the corridor, in the opposite direction to the room where the Doctor lay, a door stood ajar. She frowned at it, trying to remember whether or not that door had been open before. She was pretty sure it hadn't. She walked towards it and didn't hesitate to push the door open and go inside. She was still running on anger. She gazed around, and then her eyes settled on the single bed in the corner.

Harrison Cartwright lay on it, black goggles on. The machine beside him beeped quietly. Ashley scowled. If anything happened to the Doctor, it was his fault.

Ashley moved across the room and stood by the bed. She watched his chest rising and falling. Her eyes fell upon the main plug in his temple. She slowly reached for the wire leading for it. She wrapped her fist around the wire, her lip curling slightly.

'If anything happens to him,' she whispered. 'I'll come back.'

Harrison Cartwright remained still and silent. Ashley let go of the wire and then headed out of the room, her fists clenched tightly by her sides.

* * *

The small girl led the Doctor along the corridors. The longer they walked, the louder the chattering became. The girl's hand was soft and warm. It was all so convincing. It was quite amazing really. The Doctor found himself agreeing with something Mitchell had said, that Cartwright could be a genius. Perhaps he was a genius.

Obviously not as genius as the Doctor though.

'It's not far.' The little girl turned and smiled at him. 'They're so excited.'

'Who is excited?' The Doctor asked with a frown.

'Well everyone, silly.' The little girl giggled.

The Doctor half nodded. 'I do know that none of this is real you know. It's in my own head.'

'Your consciousness is here,' the little girl replied. 'What does it matter where you physical body is?'

'Well seeing that my physical body tends to keep my consciousness alive, I'd say it matters quite a bit.'

The little girl giggled. 'You _are_ silly.' She stopped and let go of his hand. 'We're here.'

The Doctor looked up at the elaborately decorated doors in front of him and swallowed. He had stood before these doors many times. He didn't think he would ever see them again. Voices murmured and chattered on the other side. He looked down to the little girl. She smiled and nodded towards the door. Tentatively, the Doctor moved forward. The doors swung open with just a nudge.

The murmuring stopped. He walked into the room, his eyes wide in disbelief. Every seat in the auditorium was full. Full of his family, his friends… full of everyone he thought he had lost. Full of everyone that he would give anything to see again.

'Doctor!'

He turned. That blonde hair. That smile.

'Rose?'

She wrapped her arms around him tightly and hugged him. The Doctor went rigid. He could smell her perfume. He felt a lump in his throat.

'I've missed you so much!' Rose told him, hugging him tighter.

The Doctor swallowed. He felt his eyes getting wet.

_It's not real._

He hugged her back. 'I missed you too, Rose.'

* * *

_I am so sorry to all the Rose haters (you wouldn't believe that I hate the whole Drose milarky) but I didn't want to make up my own Gallifreian because I know bot all about the Time Lords lol! It was either Rose or Martha and... well, to me the Doctor looked happy when Martha finally buggered off xD lol!_

_But thank yoooooooou for your lurvely comments. They're like catnip to me. (remembers that i'm not a cat) Um... yeah... you still all rock like Fraggle Rock xD_


	9. Content

**Chapter Nine**

**Content**

Ashley had thought she wouldn't sleep. In fact, she actually hoped she wouldn't sleep, but as soon as she lay her head down on the pillow – only inches away from the Doctor's head – she fell into a deep sleep. It was understandable, of course. She didn't think she had slept properly since she dozed off after drinking the last of that wine from her fridge, and even then she hadn't got a good night's sleep. She had run from a guy who wanted to steal her brain, a giant spider that wanted to take her eyeballs, a crazy woman who wanted to steal her youth…

Realistically, she should have dropped unconscious by now.

To her she felt like she had only been asleep for about ten minutes or so, but opening her eyes and seeing Mitchell's weary face as he shook her awake told her otherwise. She sat up abruptly, rubbing her eyes.

'Wha… Is he out?' she asked groggily.

Mitchell shook his head grimly. 'I'm sorry.' He moved back around the bed by the Doctor. Ashley watched him in bewilderment.

'Why are you apologising? What's wrong?'

Mitchell cleared his throat. 'Come and look at this. I'll explain.'

Ashley's heart was in her throat. She was expecting the worst. He was dead. She was going to go right down that hall and grab that son of a bitch's wire and-

'It's been twenty four and a half hours since we got back and found him.' Mitchell explained. He pointed at a small screen by the side of the bed. 'These are his vitals. I don't know how or why, but it seems like he has two heartbeats… that's impossible I know but I worked with it and managed to still get relatively decent readings.' He pointed at a red line. 'Now, if he was experiencing any discomfort or stress of any kind, this line would be going crazy. The steady rhythm pretty much suggests that he's perfectly fine.' He looked at Ashley worriedly. 'Content.'

Ashley blinked and rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. She shook her head. 'So… So what? He's going to come out of it soon though, right? He's started the unplugging thing.'

Mitchell eyed her for a moment. 'It means he's happy.' He replied gently. 'After twenty-four hours, people normally decide to stay where they are. I'm sorry, Ashley, but you're going to have to wait the two weeks if you want him out and I can assure you after two weeks of being in VR, he won't be the same person you knew before.'

'What do you mean, not the same person?' She frowned at the young man before her. Her head was still swimming from sleep.

Mitchell sighed and looked down, searching for words. 'He… He will have spent two weeks in the best place imaginable. Everything he ever wanted will be there. His every single dream come true. Imagine… Imagine if that were _you_. Then imagine someone pulled you _out_ of that, into a world…' He looked around and frowned. 'Into a world like _this_. Could you live this life knowing you've lost a perfect one?'

Ashley frowned, feeling herself shaking. 'The Doctor isn't like that. He's not that weak.'

'We all have our weaknesses.' Mitchell told her gently. 'This machine knows all of our weaknesses. I've never met a single person who has gone back to their normal life after two weeks of being plugged in. Not one.'

Ashley gritted her teeth. Tears were welling in her eyes and she was trembling all over. 'No…' she mumbled.

'Ashley, we can only do our best…' He reached out to her arm.

'_No!'_ she screamed, slapping his arm away. She shot to her feet so suddenly that she stumbled backwards, knocking over a trolley with a half empty jug of water on it. It crashed to the floor, water soaking in the carpet. 'The Doctor _wouldn't_!' she sobbed. 'He wouldn't leave me _stranded _like this! He _promised_!'

Mitchell stood slowly, arms held out to her. 'Come on. It's okay, really. We can help him, but I need for you to calm down…'

'It's _his fault!'_ she yelled angrily, tears streaming down her face. 'That bastard Cartwright!' She turned on her heels and ran out of the room. Mitchell watched after her for a moment in confusion, and then chased after her.

Ashley burst through the door of the other bedroom and stormed towards the elderly man on the bed. She reached out for the wire, but Mitchell grabbed her and pulled her back before she had the chance.

'Get off me!' she growled.

'This isn't the way!' Mitchell yelled, struggling to keep hold of her.

Ashley felt that warmth in her stomach. 'He did this! It's his fault!'

'And do you think it's right if you kill him?' Mitchell cried. 'You think it makes it fair? We can still help the Doctor! While he's alive, we can help him. Do you think he would want you to kill Mr Cartwright because of him?'

Ashley stopped struggling slowly. She let out an anguished sob. 'No…'

Mitchell turned her around and moved his face close to hers, staring into her eyes. 'We can help him, okay?'

Ashley nodded, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. 'Okay… yeah…'

Mitchell pulled her into a hug. 'It's not as bad as you think, okay? He'll be fine.'

Ashley nodded, her face against his chest. 'Okay.'

He squeezed her hand and pulled her towards the door. 'Come on.'

Ashley cast one last look at Harrison Cartwright, and left him in peace.

* * *

It took her about twenty minutes to calm down again. She sat on the bed beside the Doctor and watched him. He didn't move a muscle. Ashley found herself wondering if he would get itchy. Because, surely if he got an itch, he wouldn't be able to scratch it… and in the VR game he wouldn't be able to get it either because he wouldn't be _really_ scratching. Or would the game just tell him he wasn't itchy?

She frowned at the headache that was beginning to make itself known.

'Are you okay?'

She glanced up to Mitchell. He was looking at her warily, probably expecting her to go off on another bender.

'Yeah.' She replied quietly. 'I'm okay.'

Mitchell nodded. 'So… what do you want to do? Should I start the unplugging?'

Ashley looked at the Doctor. 'No.' she said.

'I'm sorry?'

She ran a hand over her face and sighed heavily. 'If we force him out… I mean, if he _is_ really happy and we force him out, what's to stop him plugging himself straight back in? We don't know how he feels about it. Maybe he's hoping we don't pull the plug at all.' She reached out and carefully plucked a small piece of white thread from the Doctor's suit. 'We have to make him want to come out.'

'Well he can't hear us talking.' Mitchell told her, shaking his head.

Ashley bit her lip. 'I know.'

Mitchell eyed her for a while. 'There's one other way.'

She looked up at him, eyes wide with hope. 'What?'

'One of us can hook up to the machine,' Mitchell told her with a shrug. 'I can split the plugs so we wouldn't go into our own game, we would go into his.'

Ashley frowned thoughtfully. 'And we would be able to talk to him?'

Mitchell nodded. 'It's risky though. I've never seen anyone do it. The game might reject the new person. Or, worse, the new person could decide they like it there too. Might not want to leave.'

Ashley drummed her fingers on the bed. 'But it's possible?'

'Yeah.'

She mulled it over for a moment. 'Okay. We'll do that.'

Mitchell nodded. 'I'll go in.' he told her. 'If something goes wrong I'd rather it be me than…'

'No,' Ashley frowned, waving her hand. 'If anyone is going to talk the Doctor into coming out, it'll have to be me. I… I know a little more about him than you do. I'll go in and I'll talk him around.' She nodded to herself.

Mitchell eyed her unsurely. 'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. He's saved my life before, the least I can do is return the favour.'

'Okay then.' Mitchell pushed himself up. 'I'll go get the stuff.'

Ashley watched him leave the room sadly. She turned back to the Doctor when he had left and took his hand. 'I'm sorry if you're happy wherever you are,' she said quietly. 'But you can't stay there. You know you can't.'


	10. Numb

**Chapter Ten**

**Numb**

_I can't stay here_.

The Doctor leaned on the sandy coloured railing with his forearms crossed and stared across the beautiful horizon of Gallifrey. This was the exact same spot he used to stand at when he was younger. A _lot_ younger. Before he was even taken as a Time Lord. He used to stand on this balcony and wish he could get his very own TARDIS and leave. He wanted to leave so badly back then. Now all he wanted was to return.

Ironic, really.

He took in a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair and then exhaled loudly. He knew fine well that he could unplug himself at any time. He couldn't explain it, but he just automatically knew he could after about twenty-four hours. He assumed it was because it was safe for him to leave. His brain had become adapted, if you will. But for some reason, he hadn't unplugged.

He wasn't even sure why.

He had spoken to Rose for a long time. It was frightening how real she was. At one point, he had actually became convinced that it _was_ the real her. She spoke the same, acted the same, _smelled_ the same. So did everyone else. Eventually he had to leave to be alone. He couldn't think straight when he was with them all. When he was with them, he didn't want to leave.

But he had to leave.

_Do I? Really?_

'Stop that,' he scolded himself. 'Stop that right now.'

But really… All those years of travelling through time and space, a lot of the time alone… He was getting older, and he was getting weary. He wasn't getting tired of it, no way would he ever be able to get tired of travelling, but…

He rested his head on his forearms and stared down at his dusty converse.

It would be nice to rest. Perhaps even just for a little while.

Just a little while.

* * *

Ashley glanced up as Mitchell came through the door backwards, pulling along a trolley packed with machines and wires. He glanced at her once and half smiled nervously, and then wheeled the trolley to the bed. She let go of the Doctor's hand and sat on the edge of the bed.

'Is that everything?' she asked, looking dubious.

'Yeah.' Mitchell replied. 'It'll take me about five minutes or so to set up.' He lifted the wires up and put them on the bed. 'Are you sure you want to do this?'

Ashley swallowed and nodded. 'Yeah. Yeah I think I'm sure.'

Mitchell half smiled. 'You think you're sure? That doesn't sound too sure to me.'

'I mean I am. I'm sure.' Ashley smiled weakly. 'At least I think I'm sure.'

Mitchell sighed and sat down beside her on the bed. 'I can do this for you.' He told her. 'If I just remind him of the way he reacted to Mr Cartwright then he'll unplug right away. If he's the person you said he is, he probably won't even hesitate. Maybe he doesn't know he can unplug himself?'

Ashley tilted her head at the possibility. 'I don't know. He seems to know things…'

Mitchell put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a brief squeeze. 'It'll turn out fine. You'll see. I'll go in for you.'

'No. I'm going.' She looked up at him and smiled lazily. 'Because if something goes wrong on this end, well… I'll probably panic, and if I panic, things get broken. And recently, things get burned.'

Mitchell nodded. 'Okay then.'

He looked at her for a little too long, and Ashley had to look away. She stood, moving out of his arm and stood over the machine. 'So are you going to hook me up?' She paused and winced. 'That makes me sound like a drug addict.'

Mitchell didn't react to her comment. He stood and nodded. 'Just lie down. The main wire is pretty uncomfortable, and it can be a little painful, but it doesn't last very long.'

Ashley grimaced. 'I'm not good with pain.'

'I'll try and be gentle.'

Ashley took in a deep breath, and let it out sharply. She did her Rocky shoulders, and then went to the bed. She hesitated. 'God I don't think I've ever been so nervous to get into a bed. I usually like lying down. It means less standing and less… doing things.' She glanced to Mitchell, who was looking at her curiously. She waved a hand dismissively. 'Ignore me. I ramble when I'm freaked out. I ramble a ridiculous amount actually. My housemate hates it because if there's a moth… I hate moths by the way… if there's a moth in the bathroom I just stand outside and ramble until someone goes into get it. I was the same at school too. This one time I had to stand up in assembly and…'

'Ashley?' Mitchell smirked, amused. 'Shut up and lie down please.'

She blinked at him. 'Oh right.' She got onto the bed. 'Sorry.'

As soon as she lay down, her stomach began churning. Nothing was there to churn of course; she hadn't eaten since 14,000 BC. Oh no, she'd eaten a full packet of custard creams at home. Still, it wasn't much. She turned her head and looked to the Doctor. Still as ever. She took his hand and held it tight.

'Go on then.' she told Mitchell.

Mitchell nodded. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him pick up the needle. He wiped it with something, and then turned to her. He hesitated.

Annoyed, Ashley gritted her teeth. 'Bloody get on with it will you? I don't fancy you doing the 'will I won't I' with the brain needle.'

'Sorry,' Mitchell replied. 'It's just… I just wanted to say…'

'Tell me when I come out.' Ashley replied, closing her eyes. 'Get on with it you soft-arse.'

For a moment she didn't think he was going to do it. She opened her mouth to tell him to get on with it when she felt a sharp pain in her temple. Her eyes shot open and she let out a cry. It felt like she was getting an electric shock. And not just any electric shock… this was a full-blown eye popper. Her back arched off the bed and she squeezed the Doctor's hand as hard as she could.

The ceiling she stared up at seemed to get further away. Her body became stiff and rigid and numb. Then everything faded to green, and she stopped screaming.


	11. Mindless Stroll

_Sheeesh, I'm spoiling you all with updates :p_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

**Mindless Stroll**

Ashley's eyes shot open and she gasped. She took in the air too quickly and she coughed and spluttered. She pushed herself up onto all fours and coughed until she thought she was going to explode. She retched, and then spat. Her stomach ached. Bleary eyed, she looked up.

What had happened? Where the hell was she?

Memories came back at her quick and fast; the Doctor, the TARDIS, the empty planet, plugging in…

A jolt of pain ran through her head and her arms buckled, causing her to hit the ground again. She groaned and kept her eyes tightly shut until the feeling passed, and then she unsteadily got to her feet. For some reason, her vision was blurred. She rubbed her eyes with both hands, the way one would mimic a crying baby, and blinked repeatedly. Colours reached her first. Oranges, reds… She blinked another few times.

_God, the forest is on fire_… she thought in bewilderment. Then she realised she could feel no heat. She looked up at the deep orange sky in awe, her breath caught in her chest. In was magnificent. Like nothing she had ever seen.

Only the Doctor could come up with something so beautiful.

Ashley slowly approached one of the burning trees and held her hand up to it. Still no heat. Hesitantly, she reached out and plucked one of the blazing leaves. Only it wasn't blazing. She examined it, seeing her own distorted reflection in the leaf. She half laughed in amazement. Letting go of the leaf and allowing the breeze to pick it up, she turned and took in her surroundings.

Then she saw something that nearly made her drop to her knees. She had to steady herself on the trunk of the tree.

It was a city. An amazing city of tall, smooth, beautiful buildings. They reflected the orange sky, giving them a golden hue that was breathtaking. The whole city was surrounded by a dome that glistened in the sun.

It was magnificent.

For a split moment, Ashley could see herself staying here. She had never seen anywhere so beautiful, but when she blinked slowly, trying to register what she was seeing, she saw Mitchell's face. She gritted her teeth with determination.

'It's fake.' She mumbled. 'None of it is real.'

As she started walking towards the looming city, she wondered that if it was her own game she was plugged into whether or not she would want to leave either.

* * *

There didn't seem to be anyone around, which unsettled Ashley immensely. She walked the stunning streets writhing her hands in front of her. This was a pretty big place to be in someone's subconscious. She hadn't thought that it would be so hard to find him. She didn't know what she had thought actually… she hadn't thought about it.

_I could just shout for him._

She could, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.

A large tower loomed ahead, with huge, elaborately decorated doors. It looked bigger and better than any of the surrounding buildings, and Ashley guessed that if it were her fantasy she would pick the biggest and best place to go. So she headed towards it, still writhing her hands anxiously.

The doors opened with just a touch of her fingers and they opened so suddenly that she yelped and hopped back about two meters. She stood, half bent and peered into the open doorway.

'Um… hello?' she called. 'Doctor?'

No answer. Slowly, she moved inside. Like everywhere else in this crazy fairytale place, it was deserted.

'It would make sense for him to imagine a place with no people.' She muttered, heading down the corridor. Her boots were noisier on the hard floor than what she would have liked, but she wasn't about to sit and take them off. She was wearing her shin high Doc Martins beneath her jeans (her favourites ones), and they would take _forever_ to get back on again. And if something horrible hopped out of the shadows to chase her, she didn't want to be caught off guard.

She paused halfway up the corridor and cocked her ear. She could hear voices. Not just a few… more like _dozens_. Actually, it sounded like a whole audience of people. Ashley shuddered. She wasn't big with crowds. Even imaginary crowds.

Despite that, she pressed on, following the chattering. It was getting louder, so she was pretty convinced she was heading the right way. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, she came to another elaborately decorated door. The voices were definitely coming from the other side.

Ashley paused. She could push the doors open and make her presence known immediately, or she could go in quietly and just see how the Doctor was reacting to all of this. If he was happy, she would have to think carefully about what she was going to say to him. Otherwise, she would just tell him to unplug.

Easy enough, right?

But then she cursed herself and ran her fingers through her hair. Sure, she was going to be able to move around completely unnoticed with this stupid bright red hair. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for getting drunk enough to dye it such a colour in the first place. She tapped her foot, wondering what to do.

She would go in quietly, and just hope she wasn't noticed. It was the only think she could do. So she reached out and pushed the door open gently. Peering around it, she felt her jaw drop.

There must have been hundreds of people in the room, all wandering around and talking like some huge formal party. They were all smiling and laughing. All dressed in extravagant outfits. God, she would stick out like a sore thumb in this place. Instead of heading right on in, she decided to see if she could spot the Doctor. He would be in here if he were anywhere.

'Balls…' she mumbled. She couldn't see him anywhere. She was going to have to go in.

She slipped through the door, closing it gently behind her. She waited for someone to say something, but no one did. No one even looked at her. Her confidence slightly boosted by the apparent ignorance of the surrounding people, she began walking through them. Not one of them spoke to her – no one even looked at her. The less they looked, the more confident she became.

Finally she caught a glimpse of pinstripe through the crowds. She pushed the man aside who got in her way and squeezed between two others who were chatting happily. She caught a glimpse of brown hair and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now she just had to get a chance to talk to him.

'Who are you?'

Ashley stopped as the girl stepped out, narrowing her eyes. She was blonde and pretty, roughly about Ashley's age. Absurdly, she sounded like she was from London.

'Who the hell are _you_?' Ashley scowled, bemused and shaken by the sudden interruption.

'You don't belong here.' The blonde said bitterly. 'You weren't in the original plans.'

Ashley raised her eyebrows. 'I couldn't give a monkey's arse about the plans, pet.' She tried to move around her. The girl stepped in front.

'You don't belong here.' She repeated.

Ashley scowled, getting angry. 'Move it.' She snapped, pushing the girl aside roughly. She stormed through the crowds, now fully aware of the dying chatter and the eyes that were turning on her. She moved quicker.

'Doctor!' she yelled. 'Hey!'

The Doctor glanced up, still smiling from whatever the man beside him had said. His eyes fell on Ashley, and his smile slowly dropped. He blinked stupidly.

'You've got to unplug!' she yelled to him, feeling hands trying to grab her from all sides. She batted them away wildly. 'You've got to! Mitchell says the longer you stay the harder it will be for you to get back to normal!' Two rough hands grabbed her around the waist. More grabbed her arms. 'You've got to unplug now, Doctor! Please!'

The Doctor blinked, looking completely shocked and did nothing but watch as the crowds dragged Ashley kicking and screaming out of the double doors. He couldn't move.

Rose stepped up beside him, rubbing her arm from where Ashley had shoved her. 'Don't worry.' She said, touching his arm. 'It's just a glitch.' When he looked to her, she beamed broadly and held up a glass that had apparently come from nowhere. 'Banana daiquiri?'

* * *

_I'm just curious, at the begining of the next episode would people like a Story So Far type of thing because... well... I dunno people might just want to be reminded of things they may have forgot lol :p It would just be a little summary... nothing spectacular. Well... maybe a nice sequined waistcoat ;)_

_Anywhoooo... Thank you for like the gazillionth time to everyone reading my stories :D I'm running out of rock things... so... You're all like those giant candyrocks, all in your own special little wrappers :D (remind me to take my medication today lol)_


	12. Quarantined

**Chapter Twelve**

**Quarantined**

Ashley paced the cell, muttering bitterly. She couldn't believe she had just been lynch mobbed by a bunch of the Doctor's imaginary friends. Well… not _lynched_ as such. They had been quite polite after they had forced her into the cell. In all honesty, it had been her who had yelled the abuse and threw the obscenities around willy-nilly. They had actually… well… they had apologised.

She stopped and looked at her watch. It had been four hours now. For four bloody hours she had been stuck in this stupid cell. After two hours she had given up yelling. After two and a half hours she gave up kicking the bars on the cell and resorted to moping and muttering.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention and she ran to the bars, pressing her face against them and straining to see down the corridor. 'Doctor?' she called. 'Is that you?'

She got no response, but he stopped outside her cell and looked at her sadly. She narrowed her eyes at him and waited for him to speak first.

'I was going to come down straight away,' the Doctor said, unable to make eye contact. 'But… they were trying to keep me away.'

Ashley gritted her teeth and said nothing. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, the silence growing awkward and tense.

'I just… I couldn't…' He paused, swallowed. Decided to tell the truth. 'I didn't want to leave.'

Ashley reached out quickly and went to grab him, but he jumped back so her fingers only brushed the front of his suit. 'You hypocritical _bastard_!' she bellowed, furious. 'You were all ready to _kill_ that guy Cartwright because he and thousands of other people were spending their lives in a place like this. You get plugged in by accident and within twenty four ours you decide you'd rather stay too?' She swiped for him again, but he was already out of her reach. She scowled angrily at him.

The Doctor rubbed his face with one hand. 'Look, Ashley,' he sighed. 'I don't expect you to understand but this… this place isn't just some made up world. It's my home.'

'So what?' Ashley snarled. 'You've got a bloody space ship slash time machine. You can go home whenever the hell you want!'

'I can't…' The Doctor shook his head.

'Why not? You got daddy issues or something? I guess here you won't have bills to worry about or angsty parents or kids to deal with. You just swan around in one huge party with all your poncy friends and forget about everything else around you. Forget about the people you're leaving behind.'

The Doctor shifted on his feet, his teeth clenched. 'Ashley, don't-'

'You can go _anywhere_!' she yelled. 'Of all the places you can go you're lying on a bed with wires sticking in your head! You can go home _any time you want-'_

'_I can't!_'

He yelled so loud Ashley was stunned to silence. She moved her head back, mouth closed and eyes wide. She blinked at him in bewilderment. He was practically shaking, his face red and he stared right at her. She couldn't tell whether he was angry or upset. Maybe both.

Ashley regrouped quickly and rested her hand on her hip, deciding not to drop her attitude just yet. 'Why the hell not?' She had aimed to sound annoyed, but her voice was too unsteady.

The Doctor looked away, his expression dark. 'Because it's not there anymore.'

Ashley cast her eyes down, feeling bad. She crossed her arms over her chest. 'I'm sorry.' She mumbled.

He shook his head. 'It's not your fault. You didn't know.'

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, the bars of the cell between them.

'What happened?'

The Doctor didn't look from the spot he was staring at. 'There was a war.' He replied. 'Everyone… everyone died. I'm the last.'

Ashley's mouth dropped open and she winced. 'Oh, Doctor…'

He looked at her and frowned. 'Don't. I don't want your sympathy.'

She fell silent, but her expression was still sympathetic. She leaned her forehead against the bars, looking at him with her big, blue eyes. 'But you can't stay here.'

The Doctor turned away, running both hands through his hair. 'I know,' he sighed. 'I know I can't. I was… I don't even know what I was going to do.' Ashley watched him silently as he leaned against the bars of her cell and sighed heavily. 'I don't know what I was thinking.'

Ashley moved to him and reached through the bars, taking his hand. 'I get it. I'm sorry for going all PMT on you but I was just… well… a bit peeved by the being dragged and thrown in a cell thing.' She offered a smile, but he didn't respond to it so she continued. 'Mitchell said the longer you stay in the game, the less likely it is that you want to leave. And if you _do_ leave… he says its practically impossible to re-adapt. A part of your mind will _always_ be here. You won't be the same person, Doctor.'

The Doctor's eyes were dark and he stared at the floor silently. She squeezed his hand a little harder to try and get a reaction.

'Imagine where you are now,' she said. 'Where you _really _are. You're lying on a bed in a deserted colony with a whole bunch of wires sticking out of your head. You're like a cabbage, seriously. You're going to have to have Mitchell running around after you until you die. Do you really want to cause that poor bloke more grief by adding to his list of vegetables to look after?'

The Doctor looked at her grimly.

'And… and if you _are_ the last of your kind…' Ashley glanced down and bit her lip. 'If you really are, then do you really want your race becoming extinct by you lying down and dying? Because that's what you're doing, Doctor.'

He was quiet for a long time. Ashley didn't say anything else. She held his hand, but he wasn't holding hers. For one horrible moment, she thought he was going to tell her he was staying.

'You're right.' He said quietly.

Ashley smiled too widely, mostly out of relief. She toned it down. 'You're going to unplug then?'

The Doctor ran his hand over his face and sighed. 'Yeah. Yeah I will.' His eyes fell on Ashley. 'But I'll wait until you're okay to unplug. You have to wait twenty-four hours before you're given the choice to unplug. You've been here, what… four hours?'

Ashley smiled at him. 'I can stand twenty hours in a cell.' She told him. 'One time I spent forty eight hours in a police cell because a bunch of us thought it would be funny to deface a rather special monument in our town. I won't go into detail about it, but it involved bras and lots and lots of whisky.'

She had hoped for at least a hint of a smile, but he was looking down at the floor again. She let go of his hand and took his face in both of hers instead. He looked at her sadly.

'It's going to be okay you know.' She told him gently. 'You would never be happy here knowing it's not real.'

The Doctor put his own hand over one of hers and nodded. 'Thank you.'

Ashley winked and grinned. 'You just go upstairs and get me one of those banana daiquiris and we're even.'

He managed a smile back and was about to say something, when the door at the end of the corridor opened. Ashley strained to see and the Doctor stepped away from the cell.

'I told you not to come down here,' Rose frowned, looking between the Doctor and Ashley. 'She's in quarantine.'

'Who's this then?' Ashley smirked. 'Looks a bit too chavvy to be living in a place like this.'

Rose shot her an angry stare and grabbed the Doctor's arm. 'Come on.' She insisted.

The Doctor pulled his arm away. 'I'm not staying any longer.' He told her. 'I'm unplugging.'

Rose turned and looked at him incredulously. 'You can't!' she insisted. 'Doctor! I… I've been looking for you for so long! I…' Her eyes began to well up. 'I thought we could be happy here!'

The Doctor looked devastated. He turned and looked at Ashley and gave a kind of weak shrug. Ashley grabbed the bars. 'She's not real!' she insisted.

Rose turned on her with a curled up lip. '_You're_ the one who doesn't belong here.' She shot angrily.

'Oh shut up, Vicky Pollard,' Ashley shot back. 'At least I'm actually _real_.'

The Doctor grabbed Rose as she lunged towards the cell. 'Don't.' he warned.

'Why would you want to leave us?' Rose pleaded, eyes wide. 'We… we made this place for you because we knew it would make you happy! Everyone is here, Doctor! Your friends, you family, your children… we can live so happily here…'

The Doctor covered his face with both hands. 'Stop it…' he muttered.

'Doctor, ignore her!' Ashley yelled. 'That's not her talking. It's the game. It's trying to talk you out of leaving.'

Rose took the Doctor's hands from his face. 'You can have everything you ever wanted here. You'll never be lonely again.'

'Doctor, just unplug! Unplug now!'

'I can't…' the Doctor mumbled.

Ashley's mouth dropped open. 'Doctor!'

The Doctor pushed Rose's hands away and took a step back. 'I can't.' he repeated, shaking his head. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. Rose's expression turned from upset to furious in the blink of an eye.

'Fine.' She hissed, and lunged forwards, her hands seizing the Doctor's throat and she squeezed hard. Ashley yelled out in shock and pulled on the bars, but it was no use. She wouldn't be able to get out of her cell. She watched helplessly as the Doctor stumbled backwards and struggled with the blonde girl, but she hung on.

'Unplug!' Ashley screeched, her heart thudding in her chest. '_Doctor, unplug!_'

Rose threw the Doctor against the wall. His face was beetroot and he pulled at her hands but she was incredibly strong. She glared at him with an anger that he knew Rose would never be capable of. He tried to unplug, but he couldn't concentrate. He couldn't breathe.

'_Doctor_!' Ashley kept screaming. '_Unplug_!'

He closed his eyes tightly and there was a sudden blinding whiteness. Ashley wrapped her arms over her face. The pressure on his throat lightened. The room around them, and Rose, dissolved with the light.

* * *

The Doctor's eyes shot open and he gasped. He could see nothing. He raised his hands to his head, feeling strange things where his head should be. He was disorientated and confused. Suddenly, someone lifted the cover from his eyes and the light blinded him.

'A… Ashley?' he groaned, grasping around blindly.

'It's Mitchell,' a male voice replied. 'Just relax, okay? I had to unplug both of you. You'll be a bit disorientated for a while, but it'll wear off.'

The Doctor frowned. Mitchell? Then he remembered. He sat up quickly and his balance failed him. He felt hands on his shoulders.

'Whoa,' Mitchell told him. 'Keep still, okay?'

The Doctor ignored him and began pulling the wires out of his hands and head. 'What happened?' he demanded.

'Your vitals were going crazy,' Mitchell replied worriedly. 'Both of you. I panicked because I didn't know what was going on and… and I just pulled the plugs out of you both.'

The Doctor looked to Mitchell and put a hand on his shoulder. 'You did the right thing.' He said sincerely.

Mitchell smiled weakly and then moved around the bed. The Doctor looked beside him and gritted his teeth at the sight of her with all the wires connected to her. Then he frowned slightly.

'Why isn't she awake?'

Mitchell leaned over her and checked her pulse. 'I unplugged you both at the same time…' he mumbled. 'She wasn't in the game as long but…'

The Doctor leaned forward and pulled the black goggles from Ashley's face. He shook her. 'Ashley? Ashley, can you hear me?'

'She's still alive,' Mitchell pointed out, sounding worried. 'I… I don't know… I don't know why she isn't waking up…'

The Doctor shook Ashley harder. 'Ashley? Can you hear me? Ashley!'

She didn't respond.


	13. Sleeper

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Sleeper**

Two days.

Two full days.

Mitchell came and went. He had other people to look after. Each time he returned he looked more and more disillusioned. The Doctor's expression barely changed. He sat by the bed. Ashley lay on it, eyes closed and unmoving. Like she had been for two days.

Two whole days.

The Doctor didn't even bother looking up when he heard the door opening. Mitchell crossed the room silently and went straight to the machine that was showing Ashley's vitals. He checked it and then sighed.

'Better?' the Doctor asked, looking up at him wearily.

Mitchell sat on the edge of the bed. 'Worse.' He replied, flatly.

The Doctor nodded and looked back down.

'This is my fault.' Mitchell sighed, rubbing his face. 'I knew that she had only been in four hours and I knew it's a huge risk unplugging someone like that. I mean, I told her when we first found you that there's something like a uh… an eight percent chance of dying. I just panicked. I didn't know what was going on.'

The Doctor said nothing.

'And now…' Mitchell went on. 'And now she probably won't even wake up. She's in a coma.'

'She'll wake up.' The Doctor said flatly. 'If she was going to die she would have already. She'll wake up.'

Mitchell didn't look so convinced. He eyed the Doctor for a moment. 'What happened anyway? One minute you were both fine and then you were both getting pretty worked up.'

'Nothing.' The Doctor shook his head. 'Nothing happened.'

Mitchell nodded. 'You know… if she doesn't wake up in the next couple of days, she probably won't wake up at all. You need to know that.' The Doctor was silent and brooding. Mitchell stood up, scratching the back of his head. 'If you need me… I uh… I should be around here somewhere. I'll come back in a couple of hours.'

The Doctor didn't even show that he had heard. Knowing that he wasn't particularly needed, or wanted, Mitchell headed out, closing the door quietly behind him.

'You better wake up soon.' The Doctor said to Ashley softly. 'I was going to take you to the biggest theme park in the universe. I bet you'd like that. Or… well… if you didn't like that then we could go to this place called San Polo. I know, it's a boring name for a planet but the ground is really springy. The whole place is like a giant trampoline.' He squeezed her hand and swallowed against the lump that was rising in his throat. 'We've only been four places. I've got a whole universe to show you.'

Ashley remained still and silent, sleeping pleasantly. The monitor beside the bed beeped monotonously.

'This is my fault. I was stupid for turning my back on Cartwright like that. I should have known better, but I was just so… so _angry_. And you've probably seen what I get like when I see something I don't like.' He let out a strained laugh. 'For my past couple of regenerations I've had an anger problem. You should have seen my last one…' He whistled and shook his head. 'No way would I have had the patience to keep you on.' He tried to smile, but failed. 'I shouldn't have brought you with me.' He lowered his head. 'That woman was right. I've just let you down. Like I let everyone down.'

He didn't cry, but there was a lump in his throat the size of a golf ball. He swallowed against it again, but it didn't budge. He breathed out and looked up at the ceiling.

'Oh write a letter to Esther Rantzen.'

The Doctor looked down at Ashley with his mouth open and his eyes wide. She still lay with her eyes closed but now she was frowning slightly. 'Ashley?'

'And let go of my hand. You've got sweaty palms. Serial killer hands, they are.' Her eyes opened lazily and she glanced around the room once before her gaze fell upon him. 'I've got a stomper of a headache.'

The Doctor laughed, his eyes filling up. 'You're awake.' He pointed out, dumbfounded.

Ashley pushed herself up on her elbows and winced. 'Apparently so. I was having the weirdest dream. I was at a party with all these gorillas, and they all had these little banana shaped radios that were playing some weird techno song called the Funky Monkey.' She shook her head and frowned in puzzlement. 'It was well weird.'

The Doctor didn't seem to know what to do with himself. 'Are you okay? I mean… I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up again.'

Ashley looked at him solemnly. 'Scary, isn't it?'

His looked at her sadly, and then hugged her. Neither of them said anything else.


	14. Three's A Crowd

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Three's A Crowd**

The atmosphere was still and solemn. Even the breeze that had been blowing since they first landed had decided this was supposed to be a silent moment. The Doctor and Ashley stood side by side outside of the Tardis, Mitchell standing facing them a few yards away. At had been yesterday when Ashley had finally woken up, bringing the total time spent on this planet up to four days. She had needed to rest a while, but she only did so because the Doctor and Mitchell made her rest. In reality, she had wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

'I suppose I should thank you both for making my week a little more eventful,' Mitchell joked with a small smile. 'It's gets a bit monotonous around here.'

'All we did was wreak havoc, isn't that right Doctor?' Ashley nudged him playfully.

The Doctor stepped forward, holding a hand out to Mitchell. 'You're a good man, do you know that Mitchell?'

Modestly, Mitchell shrugged as he shook his hand. 'I try.'

'Are you sure you don't want us to stay and help you with the unplugging?'

Mitchell half laughed. 'No offence, but you two caused more harm than good. Although if it wasn't for you we wouldn't know that the system has a bug and isn't allowing some people to unplug. It'll probably dangerous, but we're going to start going into the games and seeing if we can help some people who might be trapped. Who knows, in a few years, we might be able to make this place presentable again.'

'I hope you do.' The Doctor nodded, pushing his hands in his pockets. 'Looks like this place was nice once.'

Mitchell glanced around and nodded. 'Yup. Beautiful place.'

The three of them stood in silence for a moment. Ashley moved forward quite suddenly and pulled Mitchell into a bear hug, pinning his arms by his sides. 'Thank you Mitchell.'

Mitchell half laughed. 'It's okay.'

Ashley stepped back again quickly, wiping at her right eye and then trying to look casual. The Doctor watched her, amused.

'It's just a shame you won't be able to stay around to help.' Mitchell smiled.

Ashley blushed.

'Well,' The Doctor sighed. 'We better be getting off. We've got a lot of travelling to be doing.'

Mitchell nodded and the Doctor turned to go into the Tardis, but Ashley grabbed his coat sleeve. She was smiling at Mitchell. 'He could come on one trip with us, couldn't he? I mean… we could drop him back off so it would seem like he had never left.' She shot the Doctor a look. 'That's if you can get the time right.'

The Doctor opened his mouth and half winced. 'I don't know…'

'Oh come on!' Ashley pressed. 'It'll be fun! He's never travelled before.'

The Doctor shuffled awkwardly, glancing to Mitchell. 'It would get a bit… crampt.'

'Are you kidding? There's loads of room.'

'I don't fancy explaining everything again.'

'I'll do it.'

Mitchell laughed, gaining curious looks from both of them. 'It's okay.' he told them. 'I don't want to come. I'm happy here.'

Ashley looked bemused. 'Seriously?'

'Seriously.'

The Doctor, relieved at the man's decision, pushed open the Tardis door. 'Well thanks again, Mitchell. It was a pleasure to meet you.'

Ashley looked disappointed. 'Are you sure?'

Mitchell nodded. 'I'm sure sure. Now go on you two,' he waved a hand and laughed. 'Get lost.'

'Don't tempt fate.' The Doctor muttered. He nodded once more to the young man, and then disappeared inside the Tardis. Ashley hesitated a moment, smiled shyly, and then followed him in.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, the Doctor started.

'That's _two_ rules you've broken already.' He told her, already pushing buttons and pulling levers on the control panel. 'One, _never_ touch the controls unless I tell you you can, because you push a wrong button and we can end up in the jaws of a T-Rex, and that wouldn't be pretty. Rule number two; Only _I_ can invite people along, okay? I don't want to land somewhere, disappear for ten minutes only to come back and find you in here with two dozen strangers prodding and poking at all of my things. I like my space to move around in here, okay? I don't need to be bumping into a bunch of…'

Ashley hugged him tightly, cutting off his words. Bewildered, he raised his eyebrows.

'It's good to have you back.' She grinned.

The Doctor smiled and hugged her back. 'Got you to thank for that.' He pried her off gently and looked at her seriously. 'But just because you stopped me from getting sucked into that thing I'm not going to let up on the rules, okay?'

'Whatever.' Ashley smirked. 'Just take us somewhere a little less perilous, okay?'

The Doctor grinned. He put his hand on the lever. 'Where's the fun in that?'

**The End**

* * *

_Okey dokey, that's Episode Four. I hope you enjoyed it and weren't disappointed with the ending, it seemed to be hard to end… I don't know whether it's because I'm needing my Doctor Who fix (every now and then I need to watch it or I can't write lol) but meh. It's finished now :P_

_And thanks to everyone who's reading and enjoying my stories. I've really seriously ran out of rock things… so you just rock :D Like caves? Nah that's crap. I'll think of something, I promise._

_The next story I'm doing is the OC thing I posted up. I've got my characters now so it shouldn't be long until I get it started and posted up. One thing about it though, it's going to be a lot longer than any of my other stories! xxxx_


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